About Us

British Weight Lifting (BWL) is the National Governing Body for Olympic Weight Lifting and Paralympic Powerlifting in Great Britain.

Established initially as the British Amateur Weight Lifters’ Association (BAWLA) in 1910, British Weight Lifting is responsible for developing participation and performance across Olympic Weight Lifting and IPC Powerlifting in Great Britain.

With hundreds of Olympic Weight Lifting and Para-Powerlifting clubs in Britain, and registered members across the nation, British Weight Lifting is a growing organisation with an influential role in building a fitter future for Great Britain.

British Weight Lifting operates several initiatives aimed at encouraging young people to learn the fundamental movement skills valuable not just in Olympic Weight Lifting but also for all physical activities. British Weight Lifting coordinates and facilitates the set-up, running and growth of club infrastructure from national, regional and sub-regional level.

Olympic and Paralympic performance is a key objective for British Weight Lifting. To support the pathway of talented athletes British Weight Lifting holds annual championships from the British Development Cup for athletes under 13, to the British Senior Championships open to all ages.

Recent international success includes Commonwealth gold at Glasgow 2014 for Zoe Smith in the Women’s Weight Lifting 58kg class, and silver for Natalie Blake in the Women’s Powerlifting Lightweight class. Ali Jawad is also the current World Record Holder and World Champion in the IPC Powerlifting Men’s 59kg class.
From educating primary school children in the aspects of safe weight lifting and encouraging people of all ages to join a club, to winning medals on a world stage, British Weight Lifting is a leading force in promoting Weight Lifting as a ‘Sport for all Sports’ as well as being the Strongest team in Britain!